North American natural gas supplies are presently abundant due to new developments in natural gas exploration and production that have allowed previously inaccessible reserves to be cost-effectively exploited. This has resulted in a natural gas surplus, with forecasts indicating that supplies will remain high, and prices low, well into the future. The natural gas industry has identified the processing of natural gas into LNG, for use primarily as a fuel source for the transportation industry, as a way to add value to surplus natural gas supplies. Currently, LNG is produced in large plants requiring significant capital investments and high energy inputs. The cost of transportation of LNG from these large plants to local LNG markets for use as a transportation fuel is approximately $1.00 per gallon of LNG. The challenge for the natural gas industry is to find a cost-effective production and distribution method that will make LNG a viable alternative to more commonly used transportation fuels.